Improvement in boot and shoe heels



M. BRAY.

Bunt avnd Shoe Heels.

N0. 142,203. Patented A'ugust26,l873.

Flag.

'UNITED STATES PATENT MELLEN BRAY, Yor NEWTON, MAssAoHUsTTs.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOOT AND SHOE HEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 142,203, dated August 26, 1873,' application tiled July 18, 1873.

To all whom 'it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, MELLEN BnAY, of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots and Shoes, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to the manner of uniting the heel and sole and securing them to the boot or shoe; and it consists in cutting the sole about one-half the length of the heel shorter than the length of the shoe, and fitting that portion of the sole which is covered by the heel into a recess formed for the purpose in the upper surface of the heel, so shaped as to form a dovetailed lock, the outer edge of the heel at the sides and rear completely inclosing the sole and coming in contact with the upper, the recess at the heel being narrower ata point near the front or forward end ofthe heel than at a point near the middle of the heel, so that the sole and heel are conlpletely locked together and cannot be separated when they are securely nailed to the shoe. The object of this invention is to facilivtate or to make it practicable to nish the heel before it is secured to the shoe, and at the same time make a secure connection between the heel and sole.

Wooden and metal heels, of a necessity, are finished before being secured to lthe boot or shoe, and leather heels can be finished very much better off from the shoe than on it; but previous to my invention no good Way had been devised for' securing such heels to the shoe, and at the same time securing the heel to the sole so that they would not part company.

The metal and wooden heels have been firmly secured by the use of an intervening plate of metal and a screw or screws, but such a construction is expensive, and my present invention is designed more especially to apply to leather or wooden heels, secured to the shoe by means of nails, as the ordinary leather heel is now secured.

Inthe drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the upper surface of a heel and sole removed from the shoe, and showing the manner of locking them together. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the heel. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of same. Fig. 5 is a plan of the sole, and Fig. 6 is an edge View ofthe same.

The heel A, whether made of wood, leather, or oth er material, has its upper surface made concave to conform to the convex surface ofthe heel of the last, to insure the bearing of the outer edge of the heel against the upper. It is also provided with a dovetail-shaped recess, A', formed in its upper surface, of a depth equal to the thickness of the outer sole, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The sole B is cut about onehalf the length of the heel shorter than the boot or shoe, and has its rear end cut to a shape to correspond to the recess Al formed in the upper side of the heel, as shown in Fig. 5; The recess A is made narrower near the forward end of the heel than it is farther back nearV the middle thereof, and the points a a thus formed prevent the heel and sole from being separated by any pressure or strain applied in the direction of the length ofthe boot or shoe.

The heel is secured to. the lboot or shoe by means of the nailsc c c in the usual manner,

or it may be secured bya center screw in a well-known manner.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A boot or shoe heel, provided with a dovetail-shaped recess formed in the forward part of the upper surface, substantially as described, for the purpose specied.

2. In the manufacture of boots or shoes, an outer sole shortened at the heel, when said sole and heel are secured together to resist separation in the direction of the 'length of the shoe by dovetailing a portion of the rear end ofthe sole into the upper'surface of the heel, substantially as described.

Executed at Boston this 15th day of July, 1873.

MELLEN BRAY.

Witnesses:

S. A. Woon, N. C. LOMBARD.

Enron. l 

